


Memories between dreams

by narayu



Series: Until I met you. [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-26
Updated: 2013-11-29
Packaged: 2018-01-02 16:57:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1059296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/narayu/pseuds/narayu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captainsasschabod on tumblr said: What if, as long as she could remember before the curse was broken, Emma would have these dreams where she’d be in the Enchanted Forest? This mysterious pirate would always be there and as she grows up, from toddler to adult, she’d tell this un-aging man bits about her life and in return he’d tell her about himself. So when the curse is broken, when she and Mary Margaret get transported to the Enchanted Forest, when Emma finds this man in a pile of corpses in the Enchanted Forest, she’s shocked to see how he looked just like the man from her dreams.</p><p>I just needed to write this...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This was an idea I saw on tumblr and it has planted a seed in me that will surely ruin my life lol... enjoy the ride.

For as long as she could remember it was the same thing. The dream started with her wandering through a forest, a beautiful forest that was perpetually bright without a cloud in the sky. She wasn't running from anything and she wasn't running to anything. It was refreshing, unlike the constant abandonment in her real life, the feeling like she always had somewhere to be but never quite knew where, never fitting in anywhere she ended up. 

 

The first time was right after the Swans, the family she thought was going to be her family, found out they were having a baby of their own. Her new dad - or well... not anymore - told her that she was going to be returning to the home she had come from and she had cried herself to sleep after the initial shock wore off.

In her dream she visited the forest for the first time and was stricken with a sense of comfort she had never before experienced. She had the urge to climb every tree but knew that she didn't have the time... or at least she didn't think she had the time. So she picked the tallest one and began the climb, had made it halfway up before a voice from below called to her.

"What are you doing up there little lass?" the voice asked and she tried to peer through the branches to make out the face of the man below. He looked to be about the same age as Mr. Swan, and he had dark hair that trailed down his face in a scruffy sprinkling that reached his neck. He was wearing all black leather and she thought - no that couldn't be right. She inched her way back down the tree so she was sitting on the lowest branch, feet dangling off and she was just about eye level with the man when she discovered that she'd seen right, he was missing a hand.

What surprised her was how like just being in the forest, she was also extremely comforted by this man's presence, though she didn't know who he was.

"Um, why are you in my dream?" she asked him in a small voice and his eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Well, darling, I live here." he said simply, shrugging easily, as if it was the most obvious fact in the world. He smiled even more broadly when she rolled her eyes at him.

"The name is Killian," he said, bowing dramatically and she couldn't help but giggle.

"I'm Emma!" she returned the introduction, hopping off the tree branch to land next to him, and followed his movements by offering a deep bow.

"Ah, Emma, a lovely name," he said, still smiling and then frowned slightly. "Do your parents know you're here?" 

She hesitated, looking down at her feet and feeling awkward for the first time since entering the forest. 

"What is this place?" she asked without answering his question and he raised an eyebrow again, not pushing the subject.

"Why the Enchanted Forest, of course." he said gesturing around himself and again acting like this was the most obvious conclusion. 

Emma looked around at the forest, still feeling that eerie calm from the location and company. She started walking, exploring her surroundings and feeling for the first time as if she belonged somewhere. She looked up to Killian and he was studying her, but letting her answer his questions in her own time. She frowned at him.

"I... don't really have parents." she said quietly and he just nodded at her, understanding and not giving her the sad smile other adults did when they found out.

"Ah, yes, I know your kind well, lass... you're a lost girl." he said matter-of-factly and she felt like she should be sad about that but she wasn't.

"Actually, Killian... I don't feel lost when I'm here." she told him with a small smile.

He just stared at her for a moment before returning the smile and they walked in silence until morning.


	2. Troubles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the beginning she only visited the enchanted forest when bad things happened. But in the beginning, bad things seemed to happen all of the time.

It became clear as time went on that Emma's life was not going to be one of fortune and favor. She learned from a very young age not to trust. She learned not to have hope, learned to stop counting the days because nothing was ever permanent in her life. There would always be a new home, a new school, a new foster family... but none of that ever lasted, everything always changed. Everything except the Enchanted Forest and the man who waited for her there.

\---

"Ah, we meet again little lass." he greeted as she opened her eyes in the forest again. She was visiting more and more frequently, anytime her despair had been the last thing she'd felt before she closed her eyes, anytime something happened that made her cry herself to sleep. One of these days she would stop crying because she wouldn't have any tears left.

He was the same as ever, even though it had been a few years since her first visit. He was always in his black leather, halfway buttoned vest, and looked as if he'd just rolled out of bed. Once when she was still too young to have any tact she had asked him why he always looked like he'd just woken up, and why he put on makeup. He had just smiled at her with that same smirk and told her that he thought the look suited him. She couldn't disagree, he looked like a pirate - and she'd eventually learn that's just what he was - and the look definitely suited him.

"Good evening, Killian." she replied giving him a low bow, mocking his own greeting from the first time they met. He was amused and she giggled.

"And what brings you to the forest on this lovely day?" he asked her, voice tighter, he knew she only visited when she was upset. She stared at her feet for a long moment before explaining.

She had been expelled today - again - and her foster parents were sending her back to the home - again. She wasn't sad this time, had grown to accept the truth that no one would ever want to keep her. And it was even getting easier to talk about it, to tell Killian what happened, how she felt, and after three years he was the closest thing to a friend she'd ever had.

He looked at her with concern - never pity - and just nodded slowly after a while.

"Did she deserve it?" he asked in a soft voice, reading her like a book even though she hadn't spoken a word of _why_ she had been expelled. She sat down on a nearby log and began picking at the bark that was dying and flaking off of its sides.

"Yes." she said quietly, the girl had deserved it... at least Emma thought she did. She had been bullying her for months now, ever since she had started at this new school. It had been a rough week already, her current foster brother was trying - pretty successfully - to get rid of her, breaking things and lying to the parents to say Emma was the cause. So she had not been in the right mood to handle an ignorant bully, and when the calls of _'hey little orphan girl_ ' and _'can't you afford a bath little orphan?_ ' came floating through the hallway and all the eyes were on her, she felt the rage building up in her chest. It wasn't until she heard the girl mock her about her parents not wanting something as ugly as her that she snapped.

"Yes," she repeated, looking up at Killian and shrugging with some sort of apology "I think she did." He nodded again, and sat across from her on another log. He never judged, never pitied, never lectured. Sometimes she wished he had been her dad, maybe he wouldn't have given her up.

"Killian, do you think I'm ugly?" she asked him, avoiding his eyes and feeling ashamed at how weak her voice sounded. She was 9 years old and she never thought she was ugly, and she never believed the things the girls at school said, but sometimes it was hard to come up with another explanation.

"Why my dear Swan, how could you think that?" he asked sounding genuinely confused. "You have hair like the sun and eyes that remind me of the forest, your smile is the loveliest sight I've seen and I feel lucky every time you feel generous enough to grace me with it." Emma blushed and smiled up at him, happy for the grin he returned to her. "But," he continued, and her smile slipped, "the most beautiful thing about you, Emma, is your heart. Because its strong and full of life even when life doesn't make it easy on you."

She felt herself smiling again, and his eyes looked back to her with a kindness in them she knew she couldn't remember seeing from anyone else in her life. There wasn't a trace of mockery, nor a trace of pity, and she wished she could take him back to her world where they could be a family together.

Reading her again and the mixture of emotions on her face, Killian spoke again.

"You know I can't go back with you, lass. This is my home." he said seriously, an apology in his voice. "But you know, I'll always be here when you need me."

She was comforted, slightly, by his promise.

"I know." she said, hopping up from the log and reaching out for his hand. He placed it in hers and they began to walk through the forest again. "So tell me about yourself!" she said brightly, and he smiled.

They spent the rest of her time in the Enchanted Forest with Killian telling her about his ship and his crew - she had been right about him, he  _was_ a pirate (Captain, he corrected and she giggled) - and she hung on every word of adventure and magic and treasure. His prized possession was his ship, and his family was his crew, his home was here in the forest, but also there on the ship and she could see the pride in his eyes when he talked about it.

"Did you ever have a family?" she asked him curiously, as they continued walking hand in hand through the forest where the light never grew dim.

"Aye, lass, I did once." he said solemnly and she waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she just nodded.  _A story for another time,_ she thought, thinking maybe when he trusted her more she would learn more about his life. They walked in silence until the world she lived in saw the light of the sun peeking over the horizon, and though she had walked through the forest of her dream world all night she woke up as refreshed as ever.

"Till we meet again." his words echoed in her mind, he had kissed her hand and bowed his flourishing pirate bow just as she had begun to wake up. She smiled now at the memory.

 _Till we meet again, Captain._ She thought as she opened her eyes to begin a new day.


	3. Reverie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knowing is not always trusting. Emma still didn't trust easily, but she was learning. Killian still hadn't told her everything, but he was getting there.

By the time Emma reached (and got kicked out of) high school, she had made peace with the inevitable reality that she would never be the kind of girl with many friends, or boyfriends, or well.. anyone. But she always had Killian.

By the time she turned 16 she realized how ridiculous it was that her only friend was someone she saw only in her dreams, but she didn't care. Part of her rationalized that someone who wasn't real could never really hurt her. Another part knew with a hundred percent certainty that Killian would never hurt her.

\---

They were eating apples, she wasn't sure where the apples had come from, but somehow they appeared and Emma had gotten past the point of questioning these things. They were sitting in the clearing with the logs and Killian had made a fire - though it was never cold nor did it ever get dark when she visited - and they were sharing a comfortable silence.

 

There was something so utterly refreshing about being with Killian, there was no pretense, no ulterior motive that she could find for him sitting there with her night after night. He didn't make any sort of advances on her - not that she'd mind terribly - and his teasing was more in jest than in mockery which was unlike anything she was used to in her real life.

 

And he was _gorgeous_.

 

For a couple years now she had been old enough to notice Killian, really notice him. She could appreciate his looks now as well as his personality. Emma had never really had a boyfriend, and had no delusions about her dream pirate becoming that to her - he had to be at least thirty - but it didn't stop her from admiring, and day dreaming when she wasn't with him.  She understood the tall dark and handsome thing she heard people talking about, he was all of those things. She found herself watching his mouth as he ate his apple seemingly deep in thought. Her eyes followed the stubble on his face down to his neck and down to where the hair on his chest peeked out of the top of his partially buttoned shirt. She studied the way his hand held the apple, seeing the roughness of it, the calluses that sat into the skin, wondering what it would feel like to be touched by him…

 

She needed to stop that train of thought. This man had been her friend since she was a small child, and it wasn't his fault that her hormones were out of control. She felt his eyes on her then and looked up, stunning blue eyes met hers and she felt the heat rush to her face. She'd been caught in her inappropriate thoughts and though she was sure he knew where her mind was wandering - he always could read her so well - he didn't say anything to embarrass her or bring any attention to it. Lucky for her, too, cause she was _mortified_.

 

"What do you plan to do about your education, then, Miss Swan?" he asked her after a few moments. "If you've been removed from yet another school, will you move again?" his tone wasn't disapproving or condescending in any way, he was just genuinely curious.

 

"I don't think so." she replied simply. "I think I'll try and get a job, and maybe get my GED later, there's nothing for me at school except kids that don't understand, and when people don't understand something they automatically choose to hate it." It was a declaration spoken without a sense of despair, just a fact that she had grown to understand about people throughout her time in the system. Killian was nodding solemnly.

 

"That's a very wise assessment for such a young girl." he murmured, not meeting her eyes and she feared they would finally show the pity she had expected to see for the past 13 years of knowing this man.

 

"I'm not a little girl anymore." she asserted, and he looked up at her and smirked.

 

"Well, love, when you get to be as old as me, a teenage girl - even one that is wise beyond her years - still seems very young." he confessed and she found herself wondering exactly how old her pirate really was.

 

Today they weren't walking, just sitting in the clearing by the fire, talking and not talking and just enjoying each others company. Emma wasn't sure when she had decided she wanted to be a part of his world and not hers, but the reality that it would never happen, that she was living in a fairy tale, was sometimes too much to bear. It brought a dark cloud over her when she was sitting under otherwise spotless skies and she felt like she had tainted this sanctuary with her mood.

He was regarding her with uncertainty when she met his eyes again. Surely he was trying to read the expression on her face, and she thought he was going to ask about it so she hurriedly opened her mouth to speak.

 

"And just how old are you?" she asked him with a small smile. Something flashed across his face that might have been suspicion but it was gone so fast that she wasn't even sure it had ever been there and he smiled back at her.

 

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." he replied with one eyebrow raised in a challenge and she was quick to meet it.

 

"Try me." she countered, eyes alight with curiosity.

 

He huffed out a laugh that was mirthless and for the first time since they'd met, Killian Jones looked troubled. It crossed her mind that he had been keeping up appearances for her sake and she suddenly felt guilty for talking about her own problems all the time. Surely this man had seen more hardship than she had in his life.

 

When he spoke, his voice was low and she thought it sounded like the growl of an animal. "I've been seeking my revenge for over three centuries." he ground out through gritted teeth and her eyes widened in shock.

 

When his eyes reached hers again they were ablaze with a fury she'd never before seen in them. She gasped and it was gone in an instant, softening at the sound of her fear and he shook his head as if trying to shake off the reaction to some memory. But Emma wasn't satisfied. Hadn't she spent years coming to this same place and sharing her life's stories with him, what did she know about him other than he was a pirate and he once lived in Neverland.

 

 _Neverland_ , she thought, _that's why he hasn't aged._

 

"Neverland." she whispered, her eyes holding his and his gaze becoming hardened, more intense.

 

"Aye," he confirmed softly, "that's where I spent the time, planning, so as not to grow old, so I could get my revenge when the time was right."

 

Something tugged at the back of her mind, something she couldn't name or put her finger on, but she felt overwhelmingly as if the right time had something to do with her.

 

"Is the right time soon?" she asked, a little fearful of the answer.

 

He smiled a knowing smile at her. "Aye, lass. For me, it's very soon." And the answer did not clear up anything at all, other than proving that she was right about being involved.

 

"Before you ask, I don't know," he began, frowning "I honestly don't know if you're truly entwined in the whole thing, or if me appearing in your dreams is just a side effect of the curse."

 

"Curse?" she asked warily, who was cursed... her? him?

 

"Hm," he nodded "Yes, all I know is that since shortly after it began, you started to come here while you were asleep. I assume once you stop visiting, that it will be time to put my plan in motion."

 

She thought through that for a moment. He wasn't lying about this curse, though she didn't know the details and could tell he wasn't going to tell her. He hadn't lied about anything in fact, if she remembered back to their first meeting and every meeting thereafter. She had a way of knowing when people were lying to her, and she was sure he was telling the truth. But there were missing pieces, and she wasn't sure they were even relevant, but one thing she had to know.

 

"Revenge for what?" she prompted, and she saw the resolve in his face before he told her.

 

"Revenge against the man that took my hand." he half-lied, and the shock of it washed over her.

 

Emma suddenly felt very betrayed. A small voice in the back of her head told her there was a good explanation for his lie, for his omission of the truth. _He hasn't ever lied to you_ , her subconscious reminded. _Until now_ , she retorted. She hadn't even realized that she had stood up from the log and began pacing until he was standing in front of her placing his hand on her shoulder to still her.

 

"Emma... what did I say?" he asked warily, scanning her face, looking back and forth between her eyes for some kind of clue as to what was going on behind them.

 

"I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, Killian." she confided and his eyes widened just a tiny bit. "I'm pretty good at knowing when someone is lying to me."

 

The emotions that flashed across his face were almost amusing in their swiftness - shock, regret, guilt, awe, respect - until he finally landed on his signature smirk and took a small step closer to her. She could feel the dawn touching her on the outside and knew her time here was coming to an end.

 

"Why lie to me now?" she demanded, not understanding what he had to gain.

When he responded, his voice was low and menacing and for the first time she felt maybe she didn't really know this man as well as she thought she did. _No, idiot, he just knows everything about you_ _,_ her subconscious warned.

 

"Don't worry love, it doesn't concern you, all that matters is that I have to skin myself a crocodile." he whispered and his breath was hot on her cheek causing her to stumble a bit before he steadied her with his... hand and something else that was hard and cold and metallic…

 

Her eyes widened in horror, up until this point, _for_ _thirteen years_ , he had been without a hand, she had noticed from the first time they met. But it was always just a leather brace where a hand should be. Now there was a sharp metal hook attached to the brace, a weapon that was certainly not there a minute ago.

His eyes softened again at the fear etched into her features.

 

"I won't hurt you, Emma." and as sure as she had known his lie before, she knew his truth now. He wouldn't hurt her. Though now there was a question in her mind if it was because she played some part in his revenge. She saw him watching her, watching these thoughts float across her features and he frowned at her, looking hurt.

 

"Try something new, darling." she heard him say as she was pulled back into consciousness. _It's called trust_. She felt the last three words rather than hearing them.

 

Trust, that was something Emma Swan was a stranger to.

 

 _I'll try_ , she thought.

 


	4. Breaking point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone reaches a breaking point. For Emma, that point was Neal. For Killain, that point was the Crocodile. These two people from different worlds were so much more similar than they'd ever know.

When Emma entered the Enchanted Forest on her first night after her trial, she did not go quietly. She didn’t open her eyes and feel the sun on her face and feel comforted. She didn’t feel the peace that usually settled over her when she entered her dream world. This time, the first time ever, she carried every bit of anger with her, every feeling of betrayal, every moment of pain. This time was different, and it was because of that difference that Emma Swan made a decision.

—-

In a place that was usually quiet until Killian greeted her in some way, today there was a din of angry yelling. Emma was not herself today, but how could she be? Today her heart had been broke. Today she had been betrayed by the only person she’d ever allowed herself to love. Today she was reminded of the reasons why she had built her walls, the reasons she didn’t trust, the reasons she didn’t give into hope. nd the reward for her forgetfulness, her payment for giving into what her heart was feeling and ignoring the warnings in her head, was almost a year in a jail cell. Today she had been sentenced to 11 months in prison for the crime that Neal committed. A Not even the sanctuary she had found here or the comfort she felt with Killian would be able to remedy that.

He had heard her, of course he had heard her - how could he not? - but he simply stood there waiting. The reason she loved Killian Jones was because he _understood_ her. He knew when she needed space, he knew when she needed a friend, he knew when she needed a distraction. Of course she hadn’t dared mention it to him, the L word, because he was a figment of her imagination, and what she had learned today was that love was a mistake.

She was leaning against her favorite tree - the one she had climbed easily on her first visit - chest heaving and breath coming out in angry huffs as she tried to calm herself down. He was to her left, watching her carefully, not interrupting or trying to calm her, just waiting. When she thought she had her breathing under control and her face was fixed into a careful mask - a mask that she knew he’d see through but that wasn’t really the point - she turned to him. But instead of brushing it off as nothing, instead of keeping the walls up and changing the subject that hadn’t even been mentioned, she broke apart.

The last thing she saw in his eyes before he wrapped his arms around her was not pity, but pain - as if he could feel what she was feeling - and she reveled in the feel of his arms tightening around her, unashamedly enjoying the warmth of him, the comfort of her friend. He understood her and while he didn’t know what had happened, couldn’t truly understand fully, she knew he understood the most basic need she had at that moment, the need for someone to just _be there_ for her.

While she stood there in his arms she thought of her mistakes. Stealing a car from a car thief, letting him take her out, choosing him as her partner - in crime and in love, letting her guard down, letting him within her walls, _loving_ him. Her basic human emotions had been her downfall and because of them, because of her stupid fucking heart, Emma Swan was going to jail. Neal Cassidy had been the first person she had trusted in a long time - other than Killian, she had always trusted Killian - and he had betrayed her. She didn’t know how long he had planned it, she had seen no hint of a lie in his words, in his eyes, _Tallahassee baby_ , it had all seemed so genuine. _Fool_ , her subconscious chided, and she couldn’t argue. She had let her feelings cloud her judgement and she vowed to never do that again.

When she had cried all of the tears she thought she had in her, she realized he was leaning against the tree and she was leaning against him. The fingers of his good hand her stroking through her hair and his hook - he wore it naturally now that she knew and was unafraid - was pressed against the small of her back holding her body to his. There was a moment of something more than comfort and she looked up into his eyes to find them carefully guarded. He had never made a move or even implied that he wanted more from her than friendship, and she suspected maybe he didn’t - or maybe he knew this wasn’t real and there was no point - but at that moment she just wanted to kiss him. So she did.

When Emma Swan’s lips met those of Killian Jones for the first time, everything froze. He stopped breathing and his whole body tensed against her, the wind seemed to stop blowing, the sounds of the forest became muted, and all she could hear was the ebb and flow of her own breath that sounded much louder than it naturally should. After a moment that felt like forever, Killian kissed her back, using the arm that had been at her back to hold her even more tightly to him, while the other remained in her hair. She melted against him, a sigh escaping her lips and being consumed by his before he abruptly pushed her away.

Her hand flew to her lips feeling the swell in them as her eyes searched his. His eyes were avoiding hers but they were dark and almost angry and she stumbled back a step before steadying her footing. She felt the full force of rejection bearing down on her. First Neal, now Killian. No - first her parents, then every foster family she’d ever been a part of, _then_ Neal and _then_ Killian. The anger was back and she was staring her fury into his eyes, willing him to feel it. He did, she could see it, he was regretting pushing her away - or maybe he was regretting ever pulling her into his arms in the first place.

Maybe it was time for her to stop believing in magical places and fairy tales. Maybe it was time for her to grow up.

"Emma, please…" he started, seeing her resolve and trying to apologize or… something, but she was done.

"No, Killian. I get it." she said, turning from him without looking back over her shoulder. She knew she was probably overreacting, she knew that her bruised feelings were not Killian’s fault, but Neals. She knew that if there was anyone in any world that knew her, that understood her, it was him. What she really wanted was to apologize for throwing herself at him, to turn around and tell him what happened and talk it through. But Emma Swan was as stubborn as they came and embarrassed as she was as a 17 year old girl throwing herself at a man who was over 300 years old, she wasn’t about to turn around.

"I’m done with this place," she spat, and wasn’t sure if he heard her until she felt his presence behind her and a tentative hand on her shoulder, stilling her retreat. "and I’m done with you." she almost sobbed the words, but bit her lip to try and maintain some semblance of strength, though she knew he would see right through her.

They stood like that for a long time, Emma pushing her emotions as far back as she could manage and Killian saying nothing while keeping his hand firmly on her shoulder to keep her in place, afraid to let her go, knowing if he did it meant losing her. But he didn’t say anything to stop her, he didn’t try and comfort her, he didn’t ask her to stay, so she didn’t.

Finally she took a deep breath and stepped out of his grip. “Don’t follow me.” she said, and was impressed with the false strength in her voice.

"As you wish" he whispered and she felt the walls she’d built to keep out everyone except Killian Jones finally close him out as well.


	5. Full Circle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When your world is tilted on its axis when you're a kid, it makes you grow up real fast. Emma Swan spent her adult life keeping people out, but all that would change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was so much fun to write. I might even write a part two that follows the storyline as we know it but with the underlying theme of them meeting before and maybe some flashbacks on the way. Anywho, thank you all so much for reading and commenting, I hope you enjoy the final chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it :D

It was her 28th birthday and her boss, Tony, was trying to ask her out again. He was promising flowers and dinner and dancing and assuring her it was going to be a magical evening. She turned him down, no such thing as magic she called over her shoulder. But Tracy, the closest thing she had to a friend, caught her on her way out.

 

"Why don't you give him a chance, hun? He's a nice guy, good looking, you could do worse." She said with a shrug and a pitying look in her eyes. "I've never seen you so much as flirt with a guy unless he was a job."

 

This wasn't the first time it had come up, but Emma was not in the mood  on today of all days. She blew out a sigh.

 

"Look Trace, we live in a world where we are taught to have unreasonable expectations of men by movies and tv shows and books. The truth is what we get is not a happy ending but a string of liars and cheaters and it's just not worth it to me." She knew she sounded so negative, especially to Tracy who had been happily married for just over a year.

 

"Jesus that's cynical, Swan." She scolded.

 

"Yeah well.. we don't live in a fairy tale." She replied, and a memory flitted in the back of her mind but never materialized. Emma shook her head slightly. "See you on Monday."

 

\---

 

After the asshole got wine all over her red dress and she roughed him up a bit for asking her what she'd know about family, Emma was in no mood for celebrating. Still, she picked up a cupcake and a single candle and headed back to her apartment.

 

"Another banner year." she sighed in front of her lone cupcake with its single candle before closing her eyes and making a wish. _I wish I didn't have to be alone on my birthday this year_ , she thought before blowing it out.

 

Just as she opened her eyes again she heard someone at the door. When she opened it she was surprised to find a small boy with brown hair looking up at her.

 

"Uh, can I help you?" she asked him, confused.

 

"Are you Emma Swan?" the kid asked her.

 

"Yeah, who are you?" she replied, a little warily.

 

"My name's Henry," he said with a small smile. "I'm your son."

 

He maneuvered around her, walking into the apartment while she was still standing there dumbstruck.

 

"Whoa, hey, hey! kid!" she called after him. "I don't have a son!" she exclaimed. _Liar_ , said her subconscious but she ignored it. "Where are your parents?" she demanded, her voice raising.

 

This kid was calm and collected and turned asking simply, "Ten years ago, did you give up a baby for adoption?" She couldn't answer, just stared at him feeling a tiny corner of her walls begin to vibrate with the need to let someone in. And also feeling a bit of panic rising up within her. "That was me." he said.

 

The panic was intensifying and she had to walk away, so she went into the bathroom and taking deep breaths like she had taught herself ages ago. When she emerged from the bathroom he was in her kitchen drinking juice out of the bottle.

 

"You know, we should probably get going." he told her and she crossed her arms and leaned against the counter.

 

"Going where?" she asked.

 

"I want you to come home with me." he said as if it was that easy for her to up and leave and go on some trip with some kid she never knew and hadn't thought about for ten years. _Liar_ , her subconscious repeated.

 

"Okay, kid, I'm calling the cops." she said, walking over to where she kept her phone.

 

"Then I'll tell them you kidnapped me." he shrugged, and she thought he was bold and a little crazy but... also had a leg to stand on there.

 

"And they'll believe you because I'm your birth mother." she surmised.

 

She knew he was lying but he was keeping up appearances. It wasn't hard to get him to fold. He was good for a ten year old, but she was better. But when he asked her not to do it, begged her to come home with him, something in her chest tightened.

 

Before she knew it she was on her way to Storybrooke, Maine and this kid - this Henry - was telling her about some curse and how all of the fairy tale characters were trapped in this town by the evil queen, she was supposedly meeting Jiminy Cricket and then she learned that Henry's mother was the damn mayor.

 

\---

 

It turned out that Emma Swan _did_ live in a fairy tale. In fact, she was evidently the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and the product of true love. Her whole world was tipped on its axis again and like the last time it was because of love. Not because she trusted someone falsely, but because she found love in this small boy who had her features and all of her stubbornness and determination.

 

She hadn't believed, hadn't _truly_ believed in his stories until he fell under a sleeping curse that had been meant for her. Even then she had been helpless, didn't understand, didn't know what to do until the most basic of instincts had her leaning down over his lifeless body and placing a kiss on his forehead and whispering "I love you." It was the first time she'd said it to anyone since Neal, and she said it as her heart shattered into a million pieces, knowing she was losing him right when she was truly letting him in.

 

And then he woke up. Everyone woke up. And the truth that he had been trying to convince her of all along was staring her right in the face.

 

\---

When Emma finds herself ripped out of Storybrooke through a portal along with Mary Margaret - or Snow White - or _her mother_ \- and wakes up in a land that is different and yet somehow extremely familiar she's initially disoriented. It might be because of the fact that she's being dragged around with her wrists bound by rope by two women who claim to be Mulan and princess Aurora or maybe its because she's thrown into a pit inside some sort of refugee camp. Maybe its because she's distracted by meeting Regina's mother Cora and then Lancelot.

 

But when she takes in her surroundings - really takes them in - she remembers them from before. "The Enchanted Forest is not as you remember it." Lancelot had said. _The Enchanted Forest_. But that was just a dream... a dream she had from childhood. She hadn't been back in over ten years, and it wasn't real. She shakes it off, there isn't time to dwell on childhood fantasies, even if she did just find out that Snow White was her mother. They need to get back to Henry.

 

And yet things are getting more and more familiar. She sees what could have been her old clearing and was that her tree? But it couldn't be. It looked as though someone had tried to burn it to the ground… And anyway could she really have traveled to another realm in her dreams all those years ago?

 

After torching the wardrobe to prevent Cora from using it, they return to Mulan's camp to find a massacre. Every single person had their hearts ripped from their chests and Emma had never seen anything like it. Well... almost every single person. A hand moves and Emma calls out to the others.

 

"Hey - hey look!"

 

Aurora sees immediately what Emma is unable to verbalize. "There's someone under there!" and she moves to help him out from under the bodies.

 

"Please -" she hears a familiar man's voice, a voice that causes her heart to pound in her chest. _It can't be_.

 

"Please help me!" he cries as he turns to look at Mary Margaret who was assuring him that they won't hurt him. He isn't facing her, and she can't be certain, and yet something twists in her gut telling her she's right.

 

"Thank you." he breathes and then finally turns to look at her, turns so she has an unobstructed view of his face. Her mouth is dry and her breath is ragged as her suspicions are confirmed. Emma Swan is in the Enchanted Forest, the same place from her dreams, and everything is coming full circle because right now she is face to face with Killian Jones.


End file.
